Anarchist Key Thinkers

Question 1

Who is regarded as the ‘father of anarchism’?

Answer 1

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

He was the first political thinker to use the term anarchist.

Question 2

What is Proudhon’s definition of anarchism?

Answer 2

The absence of a master, of a sovereign.

Question 3

What significant economic idea did Proudhon develop?

Answer 3

Mutualism.

Question 4

List some of Proudhon’s major works.

Answer 4

• What is Property? (1840)
• System of Economic Contradictions, or The Philosophy of Poverty (1846)
• General Idea of the Revolution in the Nineteenth Century (1851)
• Justice in the Revolution and the Church (1858)

Question 5

What was Proudhon’s stance on collectivism?

Answer 5

He opposed it on the grounds that it subordinated individual freedom and independence.

Question 6

What famous quote reflects Proudhon’s view on private property?

Answer 6

‘Property is theft.’

Question 7

What is mutualism according to Proudhon?

Answer 7

A system where self-governing producers exchange goods and services through mutually beneficial contracts.

Question 8

What did Proudhon believe about private property?

Answer 8

He viewed it as illegitimate when it gives one person power over another but accepted home ownership and tools for work.

Question 9

How did Proudhon believe the state could be abolished?

Answer 9

Through propaganda and passive resistance rather than violence.

Question 10

Who was Mikhail Bakunin?

Answer 10

An important founding figure in collectivist anarchism.

Question 11

What did Bakunin view the state as?

Answer 11

A vast slaughterhouse or an illegitimate authority that crushes personal freedom.

Question 12

What are Bakunin’s main works?

Answer 12

• God and the State (1871)
• Statism and Anarchy (1873)

Question 13

What was Bakunin’s stance on religion?

Answer 13

He believed it reinforced state oppression and promoted ignorance.

Question 14

What did Bakunin mean by ‘propaganda by the deed’?

Answer 14

A strategy to trigger spontaneous revolutionary acts.

Question 15

What did Bakunin argue about human nature?

Answer 15

Humans are rational, autonomous, and have an innate capacity to rebel.

Question 16

What was Peter Kropotkin’s major contribution to anarchism?

Answer 16

He is a key theorist in the anarcho-communist movement.

Question 17

What are Kropotkin’s major works?

Answer 17

• Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution (1902)
• The Conquest of Bread (1892)
• Fields, Factories and Workshops (1897)

Question 18

What is Kropotkin’s view on competition and mutual aid?

Answer 18

He argues that sociability is the greatest advantage in the struggle for life.

Question 19

How does Kropotkin view the state?

Answer 19

As a coercive institution that subjects the masses to the will of the minorities.

Question 20

What is Max Stirner known for?

Answer 20

His book The Ego and His Own and being a leading figure in egoist individualist anarchism.

Question 21

What is the core of human nature according to Stirner?

Answer 21

The self-interested ego.

Question 22

What does Stirner believe about the state?

Answer 22

It is inherently oppressive and invasive, limiting individual freedom.

Question 23

What is Stirner’s view on morality and ideology?

Answer 23

He dismisses them as ‘spooks’ that suppress egoism.

Question 24

What does Stirner propose instead of revolution?

Answer 24

Insurrection by self-interested individuals.

Question 25

Who was Emma Goldman?

Answer 25

A prominent anarchist propagandist and revolutionary.

Question 26

What did Goldman define anarchism as?

Answer 26

A social order based on liberty without legal restrictions.

Question 27

How did Goldman view the state?

Answer 27

As an immoral 'cold monster' that constrains personal liberty.

Question 28

What was Goldman's stance on private property?

Answer 28

She rejected it, advocating for a society of loosely-federated productive groups.

Question 29

What does the operation of the state run counter to?

Answer 29

Human nature and development ## Footnote The state constrains personal liberty and prevents social harmony.

Question 30

How does the state protect the interests of the ruling class?

Answer 30

Through the legal system, police, and potential capacity for violence ## Footnote This control suppresses individual autonomy and free expression.

Question 31

What is the state's external engagement with other states focused on?

Answer 31

Military competition to extend territory and power ## Footnote The state uses patriotism to manipulate the population and justify military funding.

Question 32

What does Goldman criticize about the majority's relationship with authority?

Answer 32

They become dependent on leaders and subservient to authority ## Footnote The mass 'cling to its masters [and] loves the whip'.

Question 33

What does Goldman believe humans have the capacity to do?

Answer 33

Break free from repression and reach their full potential ## Footnote This involves overthrowing the state, capitalism, and other forms of authority.

Question 34

What means does Goldman propose for overthrowing the state and capitalism?

Answer 34

Revolution or collective violence ## Footnote This includes class war, industrial sabotage, and direct action.

Question 35

What alternative to violent revolution does Goldman suggest in her later work?

Answer 35

Gradual social transformation through libertarian education ## Footnote This emphasizes knowledge, free play, and abandonment of conventional schooling.

Question 36

What significant contribution did Goldman make to anarchism?

Answer 36

Linking anarchism with feminism ## Footnote She condemned the social double standard and objectification of women.

Question 37

According to Goldman, how can female emancipation be achieved?

Answer 37

Through women asserting themselves as personalities ## Footnote This involves rejecting their treatment as sex commodities and asserting control over their bodies.

Question 38

What is Goldman's stance on marriage?

Answer 38

It is damaging and turns women into parasitic dependents of men ## Footnote Marriage allows the state to intrude into personal lives.

Question 39

What concept does Goldman advocate instead of traditional marriage?

Answer 39

Free love ## Footnote This is an unforced and genuine attachment between two people, disregarding legal and religious conventions.